Book Review: Frat Boy and Toppy by Anne Tenino

Title: Frat Boy and Toppy
Series: Theta Alpha Gamma, Book 1
Author: Anne Tenino
Genre: New Adult, Contemporary Romance, M/M Romance
Sensuality Rating: Erotic
Source: NetGalley
Published: March 2012 by Riptide Publishing

Brad is great at meeting other people's expectations. But his own? Not so much. Take the gay thing. Okay, so yeah. It took a morning meeting with a frat brother's hairy, naked ass for him to admit it, but he knows the truth about himself now. Let the gay life commence.

Unfortunately, it's not that easy. He hasn't quite determined how to come out to anyone, even Sebastian, the geeky-hot TA in his history class. Sebastian is everything Brad is not. Intellectual, suave, hairy. Out. And he doesn't seem interested in Brad, even when Brad makes a fool of himself trying to catch his notice.

Score one for foolery: Sebastian does more than notice Brad; he takes him to bed. Brad's been with plenty of girls, but with Sebastian, the sex is something else entirely-hot, mind-blowing, affirming, and a little domineering in a way that drives him wild. But when great sex turns into something more-dare he admit the "L" word?-Brad must face the crushing realization that Sebastian doesn't feel the same. Unless, of course, he does. After all, even grad students can be idiots about matters of the heart.

Reviewed By: J9

In a Nutshell: Unexpected MM New Adult romance that while good, still featured two leads who were a little immature for my tastes.

The Set Up: Brad spent his high school and early college life being the girl-chasing football player everyone expected him to be. And all the time he was hiding his homosexuality.  But when he starts fantasizing about the geeky TA in his history class, he can’t deny it any longer. Sebastian isn’t above showing Brad the gay-way but when Brad starts getting emotionally involved, Sebastian gets confused.

Why I Read this Book: This was a DABWAHA nominee so knew I had to read it.

What I Liked: This is a fun and light book. Brad’s acceptance of his homosexuality is entertaining and heartfelt simultaneously. I love his family’s response to his coming out and his frat…well, I won’t ruin that but to say it’s memorable and fit with the tone of the book. I like that these characters, the romance, and the message all match to make an entertaining read without any dark drama.

This is a deliciously erotic romance. Readers are treated to the sexual explorations between Brad and Sebastian and their feeling of youthful sexual exuberance is delightful here. Brad’s sexual curiosity is a huge part of this novel and adds to the youthful nature of the book.

What I Also Liked: This book doesn’t attempt to show a life-building romance but offers a young-love romance. Brad and Sebastian are both in similar places in their lives, not done college but interested in exploring adult relationships. This book doesn’t attempt to squeeze a forever, you’re-the-only-one-romance into this budding relationship. The romance unfolds in the context of these two young men’s college lives.

I also enjoyed the secondary characters here. I’ve a nerd’s fear and stereotypes of frat boys but Brad’s frat members are strong secondary characters who are more than stereotypes.

Finally, I adored Brad’s guilt and reflection about how he treated women in his life. In MM romance it’s rare to have leads even think about women or have female characters but this novel has Brad deeply wrestling with his past actions regarding women and his “beards”. One of his ex-girlfriend plays a fairly large role in this book and I really enjoyed that part of the book.

What I Didn’t Like: First, I spent nearly a year not reading this book because of the title. Not sure why it makes me cringe but it does, every time I read the title!

Second, this is clearly a New Adult book. The leads are both in college and worried about the problems college life brings, not the real work with homes, jobs, bills and such. This isn’t terrible but I prefer more mature leads and romances.

IMO: This above average book is enjoyable for what it is, an erotic MM New Adult book with likeable leads.

J9’s Rating: